Sweeping building envelope - Façade of the Budapest ONE realised with special construction from WICONA
Budapest ONE, a spectacular new building complex, was recently constructed at a central location in Budapest. The office and commercial building, designed with the future in mind, catches the eye directly, especially because of the curved and almost iconic façade design. The impressive building envelope was realised with a project-specific aluminium system from WICONA.
Pioneering construction project for Hungary
In the southwest of Budapest, the impressive new South Buda City Center was recently completed on the 26-hectare Kelenföld site. The extensive investment project of the internationally operating Futureal Group at Hungary's largest transport hub includes not only comprehensive measures in the area of transport infrastructure, but also the construction of the modern Etele Plaza shopping centre and the striking Budapest ONE building complex. With more than 66,000 square metres of space, the 9-storey new building offers state-of-the-art office space for 7,000 employees as well as numerous retail outlets on the ground floor. The building, designed by the architectural firm Paulinyi & Partners Zrt. (Budapest), blends harmoniously into its surroundings and the neighbouring residential area with its undulating silhouette. In the inner courtyard there is a 0.5 hectare public open space with a wide green area as well as a fountain – an ideal place to linger.
Holistic feel-good architecture
Creating a liveable feel-good environment for staff and visitors was a central building block in the architectural concept of Budapest ONE. For example, the building is equipped with an intelligent building management system for maximum comfort. In addition, employees have access to a bicycle storage room with shower, a panoramic running track on the roof, green relaxation terraces and charging stations for electric cars and e-bikes. Consequently, Budapest ONE was one of the first office buildings in Hungary to receive the international pre-qualification "WELL Building Platinum". The certification distinguishes office buildings that, in addition to environmental protection, also take into account the health, well-being and comfort of the users.
Digital BIM planning for maximum performance
The entire building, including the façade design, was planned digitally using Building Information Modelling (BIM). The shape of the building in particular was optimised again and again in numerous simulations. Miklós Balaskó, Project Manager of Paulinyi & Partners Zrt. explains: "The floor plan and façade geometry were determined following extensive wind simulations and taking into account all environmental conditions. To determine the shape and colour of the vertical louvres integrated into the façade, we took into account the amount of daylight and the position of the sun. This enabled us to achieve maximum energy efficiency." This is certainly also a reason why the building has already received the renowned BREEAM certification.
Curved façade as a special construction
Due to its curved shape, the façade of the Budapest ONE is an eye-catcher that can be seen from afar. The huge space is broken up by subtle openings and extensions, arcades on the ground floor and a "skygarden" on the upper floors. Due to the complex building architecture, the WICONA WICTEC EL evo unitised façade proved to be the ideal solution for the implementation. As part of the collaboration with the architects, the façade construction company Schal-Tech Kft. and WICONA's experts, this was precisely adapted to the project requirements. WICONA architectural consultant Álmos Dömotör explains: "We modified the basic system and developed individual ventilation sashes together, for example." In addition, the expert emphasises: "The 3-level sealing system of this construction was ideally suited to the layout of the building with its many variable angles. It was also easier to implement deviations than with a standard saddle sealing system." The project-specific solution was combined with the WICLINE 75 evo window system. László Apkó from Schal-Tech Kft. explains another advantage of the element construction method – precisely digitally planned in BIM: "We have prefabricated 2,000 elements in our factory. This meant that the on-site assembly could be carried out economically, quickly and smoothly".
With the completion of Budapest ONE, Budapest is one architectural "icon" better off – not least thanks to a customised façade solution from WICONA.
Project Information
Project: Office building complex Budapest ONE
Developer / Investor: Futureal Zrt., Budapest (Hungary)
Architects: Paulinyi & Partners Zrt., Budapest (Hungary)
Façade construction: Schal-Tech Kft., Budaörs (Hungary)
Façade planner: CUTTING EDGE FACE Kft. (Hungary)
Façade systems: WICONA Hungary
Completed: 2022
Hanna Bouveng
Communication Manager
+ 46 73 681 01 52
hanna.bouveng@hydro.com
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WICONA delivers intelligent high-tech aluminium building systems, technical expertise for international building projects and all-around service for the creativity of architects and fabricators. WICONA is a part of the Norwegian Hydro group, which also owns the Technal, Domal, SAPA and Askey brands.
Hydro is a fully integrated aluminium company with 35,000 employees in 40 countries on all continents, combining local expertise, worldwide reach and unmatched capabilities in R&D. In addition to production of primary aluminium, rolled and extruded products and recycling, Hydro also extracts bauxite, refines alumina and generates energy to be the only 360° company of the global aluminium industry.
